Automatically turn on lights, sockets and thermostats

Home automation identifies technologies designed for the use of intelligent appliances and accessories at home, capable of connecting to the Internet and carrying out smart functions, which can also be assigned remotely (when we are away from home).
Home automation can be used without having to necessarily replace all the appliances but by relying on small smart solutions at a cost accessible to everyone, which will provide great energy savings in the medium and long term.

Per automate the turning on of the light in the room or hall or activate electrical sockets or thermostatsyou can buy some simple, inexpensive smart devices that can also work with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

READ ALSO -> 8 Home automation products (Smart Home) easy to assemble and use

1) Smart sockets

The smart sockets They can be used to remotely turn off or control the turning on of any device that requires the insertion of an electrical outlet to operate.

Thanks to these solutions we will be able to bring a touch of home automation to any point of the house, with the possibility of planning switching on or off via a mobile app (even outside the home) or switching off or on on command without necessarily having to be present in front of the device.

Smart sockets are very convenient for household appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, to remotely turn off a TV or a whole series of devices connected to a power strip, so as to save money even at night (where devices usually remain in stand by mode and continue to consume electricity).

The best smart sockets that we can see are:

• Amazon Smart Plug: smart socket with Wi-Fi connectivity, easy setup and connection to the network, physical button and direct control from the Amazon Alexa app.
• TP-Link Tapo P105: economical Smart Plug socket with voice control, compatible with Alexa and Google Home, remote control via Tapo app and pre-selection time.
• Meross Presa WiFi (kit da 3): a three-socket kit equipped with L sockets (Italian socket), compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, compatibility with the SmartThings app, voice control via app and 16A maximum current.
• Presa Smart Alexa EIGHTREE: kit of 3 Schuko type smart sockets with energy monitoring system, timed socket, remote control, compatibility with Alexa, Google Home and SmartThings and maximum current 16A.
• TP-Link Tapo P300: smart power strip with Wi-Fi, separate control of 3 sockets, 18W USB fast charging, compatibility with Alexa and Google Home and remote control via Tapo App.

For further information we can read the guide above how to make automatic christmas lights for smart decorations.

2) Smart automatic thermostats

I smart automatic thermostats they allow you to control the temperature in the house and manage the operation of the heating system (gas boiler) and/or the cooling system (air conditioner). The simplest thermostats already allow you to obtain a minimum of intelligent functionality, in particular models equipped with weekly or daily chrono thermostat functionality, so that you can decide when to turn on the devices to control the home temperature at any time of the year.

If we really want to bring our home into the future we will have to focus on Smart thermostats, capable of offering information via the Internet and controlling the boiler or air conditioner completely automatically, reducing user interaction to almost zero.

The best smart automatic thermostats are:

• BEOK CONTROLS Yours: thermostat with room thermostat heating, Wi-Fi connection, compatibility with Gas/Water Boiler, compatibility with underfloor heating and compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
• Meross WiFi Thermostat: complete smart thermostat equipped with chronothermostat, compatibility with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, intelligent programming function, Wi-Fi connection and Digital LED Touchscreen.
• Honeywell Home T6: advanced smart thermostat equipped with smart Wi-Fi, dedicated app for remote control, compatibility with Apple HomeKit, Google Home and Amazon Alexa and compatibility with IFTTT routines.
• Netatmo NTH01-IT-EC: at the high end of the market we find Netatmo, equipped with a smart thermostat, chronothermostat, remote control via app, boiler management adapter, freely positionable battery unit, relay, mounting plate and compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
• Google Nest Thermostat E: one of the best smart thermostats around with battery-operated relay unit, freely positionable wireless control unit, remote control, automatic temperature change, habit learning mode, Away/Inside system and voice control via Amazon Alexa app or via any device Android.

To learn more we can read our guide on how to use it Smart thermostat and automatic control of heating and air conditioning.

3) Smart automatic lights

By purchasing smart lights we will be able to light up a room only on command, turn off the lights left on by mistake or set times in which it is possible to leave the lights on or off, so as to avoid possible waste.

For example, if we return home at 7pm, we can make sure that the lights are turned on at a specific time or as soon as our smartphone connects to the Wi-Fi network and turn them off automatically at night. To obtain this type of control we will have to focus on LED bulbs with WiFi connection, so that we can program them according to our needs.

The best smart lights we can buy are:

• TP-Link Tapo L510: E27 Wi-Fi bulb, Amazon Alexa and Google Home compatibility, 806 lumen, Warm yellow dimmable from 1% to 100%, 2700 K temperature and remote control via Tapo app.
• TP-Link Tapo L530E: Multicolor Smart LED Wi-Fi bulb, E27, Alexa and Google Home compatibility, 806 lumen, 9W power (60W equivalent) and remote control via Tapo app.
• PHILIPS Hue White Lampadina LED Smart: bulb with Bluetooth, Voice control, E27 socket, warm white light, dimmable and 9W power.
• meross Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb: multicolor dimmable bulb, E27 socket, 60W light, RGBW Smart Light, compatibility with Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
• Alexa E14 Wifi Lamp Antela: 4 dimmable Smart bulbs, 4.5W power, 385Lm lumen, 40W equivalent, cool or warm white RGBW colours, compatibility with Alexa and Google Home.

To learn more we can read the guides on automatic lights with Alexa (turn on and off with sensor) come on how to connect Alexa to lights.

Conclusions

With the products seen above we will be able to make the switching on of lights, sockets and thermostats automatic, bringing a bit of home automation into any home without having to resort to structural modifications but making sure to purchase, together with the smart devices, also a speaker intelligent speaker for voice control (such as theAmazon Echo Dot and the Google Nest Mini).

To learn more we can read our guides on how to use Google Home for home automation come on how to change the name of devices connected to Alexa and Google Assistant.